September 2008

Dan McWilliams, who lives near Mount Pleasant, reports the presence of thousands of Cepaea nemoralis or Banded Wood Snail around his house. This is an exotic species that is becoming increasingly widespread in southern Ontario. They were first seen here about 10 years ago. They are mostly nocturnal and eat Read more…

While walking the rail trail between Base Line and David Fife Line I saw large numbers of Palm Warblers, with some Yellow-rumped Warblers, an Orange-crowned Warbler, a Blue-headed Vireo, and several Eastern Phoebes. In the fields by Base Line, Eastern Meadowlarks were singing and actively flying over the field. Location: Read more…

There are a huge number of warblers (~40) in my yard and adjacent yards in Lakefield today. Most of these are Yellow-rumped Warblers but there are also a few Nashville Warblers and one immature Northern Parula (which is getting late for this species). The main point of this message is Read more…

On a day trip to Rathbun Lake today, large numbers of Red-breasted Nuthatches were present, feasting on the abundant seed crop on the White Pines. There is a major southward movement of these birds underway right now. We also saw two flocks of 100+ Northern Canada Geese flying southward. Other Read more…

A Great Egret was sighted by my daughter at the end of Redmond Bay on Jack Lake. Location: Jack Lake, near Apsley, ON Observer: Cate Kingdon

The cold front that came in this weekend has triggered a lot of migration. This morning, there were numerous migrants in our backyard including white-throated sparrows (eating Canada Elderberry fruit), Wilson’s Warblers, American Redstarts, Chestnut-sided Warblers and Red-eyed Vireo. Location: Maple Crescent, Peterborough Observer: Drew Monkman

A beautiful Giant Eastern Cranefly found its way into my house today. It is at least 5cm wide at the wings. Location: Lakefield Observer: Tony Bigg